Veterinary research in horses encompasses the study of diseases, health management, and medical treatments specific to equine species. This field investigates various aspects of horse health, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and musculoskeletal conditions. Researchers focus on understanding the pathophysiology of equine ailments, developing diagnostic tools, and evaluating therapeutic interventions. The study of horse health also involves examining preventive measures such as vaccination protocols and nutritional management to promote overall well-being. This page collects peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the diverse areas of veterinary science related to horses, providing insights into disease mechanisms, treatment strategies, and advancements in equine healthcare.
Callan MB, Giger U, Oakley DA, Scotti MV, Shofer FS.In veterinary medicine, PCV determined by centrifugation of blood in a microhematocrit tube is the most common clinical test used to initially assess and monitor anemic and polycythemic animals. In contrast, blood hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, rather than PCV, is generally determined in human patients. One automated system photometrically measures blood Hb concentration after conversion of Hb to azide methemoglobin without dilution and was found to be a simple and accurate instrument for use in human medicine. We evaluated the system for its accuracy in measuring blood Hb concentration in ani...
Rugh KS, Jiang B, Hatfield D, Garner HE, Hahn AW.We evaluated cardiac cycle length variability in ponies at rest and during strenuous exercise with and without premedication with atropine. In the absence of premedication, cardiac cycle length at rest was 1,112 +/- 53 ms, the individual cardiac cycle length standard deviation (SDCL) was 75 +/- 23 ms, and the individual cycle length coefficient of variation (CVCL) was 6.32 +/- 1.62. Exercise significantly decreased (P < 0.05) all three indexes (290 +/- 9 ms, 5 +/- 1 ms, and 1.65 +/- 0.20, respectively). Atropine premedication significantly reduced resting cardiac cycle length (685 +/- 46 ms...
Grosenbaugh DA, Hood DM.In this study, we described water-insoluble proteins extracted from the germinative regions (stratum internum and coronary band epithelium) and the cornified outer surface (stratum medium) of the equine hoof wall. Two major types of polypeptides were identified: the intermediate filaments (IF) and the IF-associated proteins. The IF, including keratins, composed a major portion of this fraction, had electrophoretic mobilities on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the range of 40 to 80 kDa, and reacted with acidic or basic keratin-specific monoclonal antibodies. Differe...
Adeyefa CA.Serological evidence of Equine Herpes virus type 1 (EHV-1) activity in Polo horses in Nigeria is reported for the first time. Eighty-two percent of horses tested with known antigen had precipitating antibodies to EHV-1 while 43% of sera tested against antigen prepared from nasal discharges were positive suggesting that the virus was being excreted in the nasal discharges and probably acting as a source of infection for incontact animals as occurs in on-going acute infections. The result of this study indicates a high prevalence of EHV-1 activity among Polo horses in Nigeria and demonstrates th...
Hagedorn HW, Böck M, Schulz R.Equine blood may contain salicylic acid (SA) taken up as free acid or represents the metabolite of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). To obtain information of SA in race horses we screened blood samples of trotting-horses routinely drawn to be analyzed for doping substances. The individual values determined followed a Gaussian distribution displaying a geometric mean of 19 ng SA per ml serum. A probit analysis revealed linear relationship (r = 0.995). Additional studies examined the antithrombotic efficacy of ASA in the horse. An oral dose of 300 mg ASA considerably elevated the bleeding time for mor...
Atwill ER, Mohammed HO, Dubovi E, Lopez J.A retrospective study was designed to determine the distribution of equine monocytic ehrlichiosis among the equine population in New York state, and to identify factors associated with risk of disease. Serum samples submitted to the diagnostic laboratory of the university during the period from January 1985 through December 1986 were examined for antibodies to Ehrlichia risticii, using the indirect fluorescent antibody technique. Factors evaluated included geographic origin and date of submission of the sample, and age, breed, and sex of the horse. Logistic regression analysis was used to iden...
Weiss DJ, Geor RJ, Burris SM, Smith CM.Pentoxifylline has been reported to improve peripheral vascular circulation by altering the flow properties of blood. To determine if the hemorrheological effects of pentoxifylline were mediated by alterations in neutrophil function and/or flow properties, we evaluated the drug's effects on equine neutrophils in vitro. Pentoxifylline, at a concentration of 1 x 10(-1) M, but not at concentrations of 1 x 10(-6) M to 1 x 10(-2) M, markedly suppressed neutrophil superoxide production, zymosan phagocytosis and adherence to nylon wool. Pentoxifylline failed to improve neutrophil filterability throug...
Chong YC, Duffus WP.Four foals were raised under specific pathogen free (SPF) conditions. At 3 to 4 months of age, SPF foals and 1 other non-SPF foal were intranasally inoculated with equine herpes virus type 1 (EHV-1). Clinical signs included depression, fever, inappetence and intermittent coughing. Clinical recovery was complete by seven days but high titres of virus were detected in nasal mucus for at least 10 days after inoculation. Clinical illness was less severe in the non-SPF foal. Interferon was detected in the nasal mucus of all foals from 2 days post infection (dpi), persisting until 8 or 10 dpi. ELISA...
Snyder JR, Pascoe JR, Olander HJ, Harmon FA, Hinds DM, Vatistasa NJ, Tyler WS.The ultrastructural injury that develops sequentially in the ascending colon during experimentally induced ischemia was examined in 6 halothane-anesthetized horses. Colonic ischemia was created by 2 types of vascular occlusion 24 cm proximal and distal to the pelvic flexure. In all horses, transmural vascular compression was created. The colonic venous circulation was obstructed in 3 horses, whereas in the other 3 horses, arterial and venous circulation was obstructed. Two additional horses were anesthetized as controls for determination of any morphologic alterations associated with the exper...
Waelchli RO, Corboz L, Doebeli M.To investigate the vulvovestibular contamination of endometrial culture swabs in the mare, a liquid culture of a streptomycin-resistant strain of Escherichia coli was applied to the vulvovestibular area of mares and used as a marker of contamination of endometrial culture swabs. Prior to taking endometrial swabs, the perineal area was washed with soap, rinsed with water, and dried. Endometrial culture swabs were taken from mares that were in anestrus or diestrus and from mares that were in estrus. When a manual transvaginal swabbing technique was used, 22 of 24 endometrial swab specimens from ...
Singh RK, Kooreman KM, Babbs CF, Fessler JF, Salaris SC, Pham J.The scavenging of superoxide radicals by endogenous and therapeutically administered superoxide dismutases may prevent superoxide-mediated oxidative stress leading to lipid peroxidation, membrane lysis, and cell death in a wide variety of normal and pathologic states. Simple inorganic manganous salts such as MnCl2 also have superoxide dismutase-like activity and are extremely inexpensive, compared with enzymatic superoxide dismutase preparations. In this study, we explored the use of Mn salts as antioxidant drugs. We used the percentage of inhibition of nitroblue tetrazolium reduction by super...
Sojka JE, Weiss JS, Samuels ML, You GM.The effect of the somatostatin analogue, octreotide, on gastric fluid pH was investigated in 4 ponies. Gastric fluid pH was determined after SC administration of octreotide or physiologic saline solution (control). A baseline sample of fluid was obtained, the agent was given, and 8 additional samples were collected hourly. Administration of octreotide at all dosages tested (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 5.0 micrograms/kg of body weight) increased gastric pH to > 5.0. Baseline values were consistently 4.0 for 2.4 +/- 1.2, 4.8 +/- 0.8, 5.7 +/- 1.3, and 5.4 +/- 2.6 (mean +/- SD) continuous hours, respec...
Parma AE, Cerone SI, Sansinanea SA, Ghezzi M.C3 was detected bound in vivo to the opaque cornea of horses inoculated with killed Leptospira interrogans. Employing epithelial corneal cells isolated from a monolayer in tissue culture, we proved that C3 is fixed in vitro to the intact cell surface after incubation with a fresh equine anti-Leptospira serum. These findings, in addition to the infiltration of cornea with neutrophils and lymphocytes, may explain the mechanisms of tissue damage in recurrent uveitis of horses with leptospirosis.
Duckworth DH, Madison JB, Calderwood-Mays M, Souba WW.Glutamine has been shown to be an important metabolic substrate of enterocytes in many animals, including cats, dogs, hamsters, human beings, monkeys, rabbits, rats, and sheep. To determine whether glutamine is important in the metabolism of cells of the equine gastrointestinal tract, we examined transintestinal differences in glutamine concentrations in the arterial and venous circulation, and measured activity of the major glutamine catabolizing enzyme, glutaminase. Arteriovenous differences provide an index of the amount of a given substrate removed by the tissue across which the measuremen...
Ziemer EL, Pappagianis D, Madigan JE, Mansmann RA, Hoffman KD.Fifteen confirmed cases of equine coccidioidomycosis that originated in California and Arizona were studied retrospectively. Age, breed, and sex varied among affected horses. The most common historical problems were chronic weight loss (53% of cases) and persistent cough (33% of cases). The most frequent physical examination abnormalities were related to the respiratory tract (60% of cases). In 27% of cases, horses had signs of musculoskeletal pain. Horses consistently had hyperproteinemia, hyperfibrinogenemia, leukocytosis, and neutrophilia. An antemortem etiologic diagnosis was made for 11 (...
Dixon PM.The structure and possible functions of respiratory secretions are reviewed. In the equine, goblet (mucus producing) cells are the main source but little information is available on the volume or composition of equine respiratory secretions. Airway mucus has complex and incompletely understood physical characteristics which can be partially assessed by a wide range of in vitro and biological techniques. The complex relationship between mucus structure and its propulsion by the airway cilia are discussed, both in health and with pulmonary disease. Mucokinesis in the horse has been assessed visu...
Roth TL, White KL, Thompson DL, Rahmanian S, Horohov DW.The mechanism by which a horse conceptus-derived immunosuppressive factor (HCS) of M(r) > 100,000 inhibits lymphocyte proliferation was investigated. The factor was obtained from the culture supernatants of 20-day-old horse conceptuses; activity, identified by reduced uptake of [3H]thymidine by mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes, was greatest (P < 0.01) in cultures stimulated by mitogen from pokeweed. HCS also suppressed cell proliferation stimulated by phytohaemagglutinin (P 0.05). Data from a fluorescence-activated cell sorter indicated that supplementation with HCS reduced the number of ...
Maurel MC, Ban E, Bidart JM, Combarnous Y.In the present study we have established an immunochemical mapping of equine Chorionic Gonadotropin (eCG/PMSG) using three monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), namely the antibodies ECG01, E10 and D7, raised against the native hormone. These antibodies do not bind to reduced, alkylated hormone, suggesting that they recognize discontinuous rather than continuous epitopes. We have also assessed the reactivity of mAbs towards human CG, and ovine, porcine, equine and bovine LH and FSH. The antigenic determinant recognized by ECG01 is localized on the alpha-subunit of equine gonadotropins and of human CG ...
Murphy TW, McCollum WH, Timoney PJ, Klingeborn BW, Hyllseth B, Golnik W, Erasmus B.Equine arteritis virus (EAV), a non-arthropod borne togavirus, has been shown to have a global distribution. To date, no major antigenic variation has been demonstrated between EAV isolates from different geographic origins. In this study, the genomic RNA of EAV isolates obtained from horses of different breeds in various countries around the world was oligonucleotide fingerprinted. Comparisons of these fingerprints were used to determine the extent of genomic variation among such isolates. Comparisons among isolates from North American horses revealed, for the most part, oligonucleotide homol...
Crabb BS, Nagesha HS, Studdert MJ.Equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV4) glycoproteins of M(r) 63K and 250K were identified in the supernatant of infected cell cultures. The 63K glycoprotein was type-specific; that is, it reacted with monospecific sera from horses that had been immunized or infected with EHV4, but not with monospecific sera from horses immunized or infected with EHV1, a closely related alphaherpesvirus. It was postulated that the secreted protein may be the homologue of similarly secreted glycoproteins of herpes simplex virus 2 glycoprotein G (HSV2 gG) and pseudorabies virus (PRV) gX, which is the homologue of HSV2 gG. T...
Hashimoto Y, Reese S, Bragulla H, Budras KD.Carbohydrate moieties of cell membranes in the epidermis of equine skin and hoof were investigated using lectin-histochemistry. The loss of desmosomes during keratinization leads to a reduced lectin affinity. Lectin binding capacity of the intercellular matrix in the stratum corneum of the epidermis is weak compared to that of the intercellular kitt of the hoof. Qualitative differences in lectin binding of the intercellular kitt of different hoof segments correlate with the quality of the horn in the respective areas.
Mutoh K, Watanabe S, Wakuri H.The glands of pelvis renalis in adult and fetal horses were examined by histochemically. The glandular terminal was divided into two types, intraepithelial gland (IE) and extraepithelial gland (EE) by their locations and histochemical characters. Both glands were composed of mucous cells. The former lay in the transitional epithelium and were stained reddish with galactose oxidase-Schiff (GOS) and mild oxidation-Schiff (MOS), bluish purple with periodic acid-cold thionine Schiff-NaOH-PAS (PCP). The latter distributed in the lamina propria, but was not discovered in the fetus. They were stained...
Chaffin MK, Fuenteabla IC, Schumacher J, Welch RD, Edwards JF.The medical records of 11 horses with idiopathic muscular hypertrophy (MH) of the small intestine were reviewed to determine the clinical and pathological features of the disease. The median age of affected horses was 10.0 years (range 5-18 years). No breed or sex predisposition was apparent. Ten horses (91%) had chronic (23 days to 2.4 years) signs of mild, intermittent colic, and 1 horse had signs of severe colic of only 3 days' duration. Partial anorexia and chronic weight loss of variable duration (1-6 months) were prominent historical findings in 5 (45%) horses. Diagnostic tests, with the...
Chen CL, Sailor JA, Collier J, Wiegand J.Seven mature thoroughbred horses, weighing between 400 and 541 kg, were each injected intra-articularly into three joints with 6 mg/joint of triamcinolone acetonide (Vetalog). The fourth joint, the control, was injected with saline. Synovial fluid was taken from all four legs of the horses on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, and 15 following the injections. Triamcinolone acetonide was assayed by a radioimmunoassay. Blood was collected at 1, 2, 4, 6, 12 h and on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, and 15 following injection of either triamcinolone or saline. Both cortisol and triamcinolone were as...
Geiser DR, Rohrbach BW.End-tidal carbon dioxide tension (PetCO2) and arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) were determined and compared in isoflurane-anesthetized spontaneously breathing equine neonates. End-tidal carbon dioxide and PaCO2 values increased with respect to time. Difference between values of PetCO2 and PaCO2 increased over time. End-tidal carbon dioxide tension was useful to predict changes in and was more closely correlated with PaCO2 early in the anesthetic period (T less than or equal to 60 minutes). The dead space volume to tidal volume (Vd/Vt) ratio increased with respect to time, indicating inc...
Gulevskiĭ AK, Grishchenko VI, Tereshchenko OS, Zagnoĭko VI, Akhremenko AK, Kucherenko SN.The effect of the fraction (1-10 kDa) obtained from the brain of cold-adapted animal (Yakut horse) on Ca2+ transport in sarcolemma vesicles of cardiomyocytes was investigated. It was shown that during insertion of Yakut horse brain fraction into incubation medium at the concentration from 10(-9) M to 3.10(-5) M at Ca2+ transport substrate concentration from 0.1 mM to 1.0 mM, the rate of Ca2+ passive penetration into vesicles slightly increased and at Ca2+ transport substrate concentration 3 mM, which is physiologic, a decrease of rate values was established for all concentrations of the fracti...
Muko R, Ojima Y, Matsuda H, Toishi Y, Oikawa MA, Shin T, Sato H, Tanaka A.Previously, we demonstrated unique insertion/deletion polymorphisms of equine histidine-rich glycoprotein with five genotypes composed of 45-bp or 90-bp deletions in the histidine-rich region of in Thoroughbred horses. Although leukocytes are typically used to collect DNA for genotyping, blood sampling from animals is sometimes difficult and invasive. Moreover, the method for extracting DNA from blood leukocytes involves complicated steps and must be performed soon after blood sampling for sensitive gene analysis. In the present study, we performed genotyping using DNA, isolated from oral m...
Discepolo DR, Gaare E, Handlos G, Perry EB.Cutaneous pH and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) are commonly utilized measures in dermatological research as they provide information concerning barrier function. The importance of dermal health has become more evident in recent years. Accordingly, the aim of this work was to identify natural fluctuations in the biophysical parameters of healthy equine skin. Cutaneous pH and TEWL was collected on nine mares at 6:00 AM, 12:00 PM, and 6:00 PM daily for five days on the nose, withers, girth area, mid-back, and base of tail. Ambient temperature and humidity were measured at each collection. Stat...
Hisaeda K, Ono T, Kadekaru S, Hata A, Miyama TS, Kutara K, Sugimoto K, Hiasa Y, Ohzawa E, Kunieda T, Iwata E, Kitagawa H.Plasma or serum amino acids are used to evaluate nutritional status and metabolic disorders. In this study, we aimed to set reference values of serum amino acid concentrations in the Noma horse, a Japanese native horse. Thirty-one horses were classified into six age groups: neonatal foal (0-4 days), foal (0.5-1 years), youth (5 years), middle age (10 years), old (15 years), and extra-old (>20 years). Horses >5 years of age were analyzed together as the adult group. In the adult horses, there were no significant differences among the serum amino acid concentrations of each age group. The ...
Lindsay-McGee V, Massey C, Li YT, Clark EL, Psifidi A, Piercy RJ.Equine exercise-associated myopathies are prevalent, clinically heterogeneous, generally idiopathic disorders characterised by episodes of myofibre damage that occur in association with exercise. Episodes are intermittent and vary within and between affected horses and across breeds. The aetiopathogenesis is often unclear; there might be multiple causes. Poor phenotypic characterisation hinders genetic and other disease analyses. Objective: The aim of this study was to characterise phenotypic patterns across exercise-associated myopathies in horses. Methods: Historical cross-sectional study, w...
Hu L, Li X, Li C, Wang L, Han L, Ni W, Zhou P, Hu S.The gut microbiota is a treasure trove of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes). To explore novel and efficient CAZymes, we analyzed the 4,142 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of the horse gut microbiota and found the MAG117.bin13 genome (Bacteroides fragilis) contains the highest number of polysaccharide utilisation loci sites (PULs), indicating its high capability for carbohydrate degradation. Bioinformatics analysis indicate that the PULs region of the MAG117.bin13 genome encodes many hypothetical proteins, which are important sources for exploring novel CAZymes. Interestingly, we discov...
Cutler C, Viljanto M, Hincks P, Habershon-Butcher J, Scarth J, van Eenoo P.S-23 is an arylpropionamide selective androgen receptor modulator that has been investigated in animal models for use as a male hormonal contraceptive but is not yet available therapeutically. S-23 is available alongside other selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) to purchase online via uncontrolled sites, sold as supplement products. It has been detected in several human doping cases, highlighting the importance of identifying the best analytical targets for equine doping control. The purpose of this study was to investigate the detection of S-23 and its phase I metabolites in equine...
Long AE, Pitta D, Hennessy M, Indugu N, Vecchiarelli B, Luethy D, Aceto H, Hurcombe S.Currently, lack of standardization for fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in equine practice has resulted in highly variable techniques, and there is no data on the bacterial metabolic activity or viability of the administered product. The objectives of this study were to compare the total and potentially metabolically active bacterial populations in equine FMT, and assess the effect of different frozen storage times, buffers, and temperatures on an equine FMT product. Fresh feces collected from three healthy adult horses was subjected to different storage methods. This included different ...
Behroozi M, Graïc JM, Gerussi T.Diffusion-weighted Imaging (DWI) is an effective and state-of-the-art neuroimaging method that non-invasively reveals the microstructure and connectivity of tissues. Recently, novel applications of the DWI technique in studying large brains through imaging enabled researchers to gain insights into the complex neural architecture in different species such as those of (e.g., horses and rhinos), (e.g., bovids, swines, and cetaceans), and (e.g., felids, canids, and pinnipeds). Classical tract-tracing methods are usually considered unsuitable for ethical and practical reasons, in large animals...
Bacon EK, Donnelly CG, Bellone RR, Haase B, Finno CJ, Velie BD.The pleiotropic effects of the melanocortin system show promise in overcoming limitations associated with large variations in opioid analgesic effectiveness observed in equine practice. Of particular interest is variation in the melanocortin-1-receptor (MC1R) gene, which dictates pigment type expression through its epistatic interaction with the agouti signalling protein (ASIP) gene. MC1R has previously been implicated in opioid efficacy in other species; however, this relationship is yet to be explored in horses. In this study, analgesic effectiveness was scored (1-3) based on noted response...
Ustyantsev IG, Kosushkin SA, Borodulina OR, Vassetzky NS, Kramerov DA.Short Interspersed Elements (SINEs) are eukaryotic retrotransposons transcribed by RNA polymerase III (pol III). Many mammalian SINEs (T SINEs) contain a polyadenylation signal (AATAAA), a pol III transcription terminator, and an A-rich tail in their 3'-end. The RNAs of such SINEs have the capacity for AAUAAA-dependent polyadenylation, which is unique to pol III-generated transcripts. The structure, evolution, and polyadenylation of the Ere SINE of ungulates (horses, rhinos, and tapirs) were investigated in this study. A bioinformatics analysis revealed the presence of up to ~4 × 10 Ere copie...
Bernick A, Demattio LS, Wehrend A.Uroperitoneum is a typical disease of the newborn foal, which occurs rarely but regularly. Ultrasonography is considered the most important imaging method for diagnosing this disease. Thus far, only one older case series comprising 31 foals suffering from uroperitoneum has systematically listed results of ultrasound examinations. Objective: This paper presents the findings of an ultrasonographic examination of 34 foals with uroperitoneum in order to inform future interpretation of ultrasonographic data in suspected uroperitoneum cases. Methods: Ultrasonographic data of 34 neonatal foals up to ...
Ing NH, Konganti K, Ghaffar N, Johnson CD, Forrest DW, Love CC, Varner DD.Males of some species, from horses to humans, require medical help for subfertility problems. There is an urgent need for novel molecular assays that reflect spermatozoal function. In the last 25 years, studies examined RNAs in spermatozoa as a window into gene expression during their development and, more recently, for their functions in early embryo development. In clinics, more dense spermatozoa are isolated by density gradient centrifugation before use in artificial insemination to increase pregnancy rates. The objectives of the current study were to discover and quantify the microRNAs i...
Tikmehdash HT, Dehnad A, Mosavari N, Naghili Hokmabadi B, Mahmazi S.Glanders caused by Burkholderia mallei is one of the most dangerous zoonotic diseases in solipeds. Clinical diagnosis of this disease in its early stages in horses, is difficult. This study investigated serological and molecular identification of B. mallei in East Azerbaijan province. In the third and fourth quarters of 2020, throughout 2021, and in the first and second quarters of 2022, the complement fixation test (CFT) was performed on 350 horses. The malleination was used to confirm the positive CFT cases. Blood samples were taken for culture and for preparing serums to perform the enzyme-...
Leguillette R, McCrae P, Massie S, Filho SA, Bayly W, David F.Swimming has been used empirically for rehabilitation and conditioning of horses. However, due to challenges imposed by recording physiological parameters in water, the intensity of free swimming effort is unknown. Objective: Measure the physiological workload associated with untethered swimming in horses. Five fit Arabian endurance horses were assessed while swimming in a 100 m-long indoor pool. Horses were equipped with a modified ergospirometry facemask to measure oxygen consumption (V̇O) and ventilatory parameters (inspired/expired volumes, V, V; peak inspiratory/expiratory flows, PkV, P...
Mascaró Triedo CE, Karar S, Abunemeh M, Portier K.Pupillometry is used in humans to monitor pain, nociception and analgesia. This single-center, non-randomized, non-blinded intervention trial, evaluated the effect of nose twitching on the pupil size in awake, sedated, and anesthetized horses. Pupil height (H) and length (L) were measured before (Be) and after (Af) nose twitching in fourteen non-painful adult awake horses (T0). The percentage of variation (PSV) was calculated (PSVTn = [(TnAf-TnBe)/TnBe]*100). Measurements were repeated (Tn) after acepromazine (0.04 mg kg IV) (T1), romifidine (0.04 mg kg IV) (T2), morphine (0.1 mg...
Gould J, Wells M, de Linde Henriksen M, Gilger BC.To determine the causes, time to resolution, effect of therapeutics, and ocular sequelae of hyphema, fibrin, and/or vitreal hemorrhage in horses. Methods: 225 horses (219 eyes) who were diagnosed with hyphema, fibrin, and/or vitreal hemorrhage. Methods: Records were retrospectively reviewed for the horses. Signalment, ophthalmic examination findings, causes, treatments, and outcomes were evaluated. Results: Common causes of intraocular fibrin or hemorrhage were equine recurrent uveitis (42/219 horses), corneal stromal abscess (32/219 horses), corneal stromal ulcer (25/219 horses), and trauma (...
Calomeno SS, Freitas Santi T, Barbosa B, Weber SH, Oliveira TM, Machado GF, Michelotto PV.Horses maintained outdoors may experience a lower-allergenic environment compared to their stabled counterparts. This study hypothesizes that climatic changes in southern Brazil can influence respiratory status. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated the lower airways of 17 horses from a teaching herd in southern Brazil, maintained outdoors, during winter, spring, and summer. Except for one mare with a history of severe asthma, all horses were considered healthy and underwent a physical examination. Airway endoscopic evaluation included scoring for tracheal mucus (0-5) and bronchial septum thic...
Brooks J, Maeda T, Ringhofer M, Yamamoto S.The oxytocinergic system has been suggested to make up an important part of the endocrine basis of group cohesion. However, controlled studies in open-group settings have not been performed. We here investigated the impact of exogenous intranasal oxytocin on the group-level social organization of 5 groups of horses ( = 58; 12 mares and 46 geldings) through GPS tracking and social network analysis. We find oxytocin flattened social differentiation across levels. Most strikingly, oxytocin did not simply reinforce existing bonds but selectively shifted social preferences toward homogenization -...
Pontaema T, Pongthaisong P, Kenchaiwong W, Chompoosan C, Lerdweeraphon W.Vasovagal tonus index (VVTI) serves as a straightforward assessment tool for autonomic function during both physiological and pathological conditions, including pregnancy, in horses. Obtaining VVTI through a modified base apex lead system could be a practical and comfortable solution. In this study, we assessed VVTI in horses with respect to training status and electrocardiographic measurements utilizing a novel modified base apex lead technique. Unassigned: A total of 12 Thai native crossbred horses and 12 Arabian horses, all free of cardiac abnormalities, were enrolled in the study. Animals ...
Elzahaby D, Mirra A, Levionnois OL, Spadavecchia C.Inhalational anaesthetic agents are routinely used in veterinary anaesthesia practices, yet their consumption contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact. We conducted a 55-day observational study at a veterinary teaching hospital in Switzerland, monitoring isoflurane and sevoflurane consumption across small, equine and farm animal clinics and analysed the resulting environmental impact. Results revealed that in total, 9.36 L of isoflurane and 1.27 L of sevoflurane were used to anaesthetise 409 animals across 1,489 h. Consumption rates varied among species...
Leite RO, Albertino LG, Sperandio LMS, Campos F, Campos R, Borges AS, Oliveira-Filho JP.Exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) in athletic horses is characterized by the presence of blood from the lungs in the tracheobronchial tree after intense exercise. Despite the high prevalence of EIPH in horses, the primary aetiology remains unknown. Variants in the genes encoding CD39 and CD39L1 (ENTPD1 and ENTPD2, respectively) were previously reported as potential genetic causes involved in EIPH pathogenesis. However, the role of these variants in haemostatic functions is unknown. Results: To investigate the association between EIPH and missense variants in the ENTPD1 (rs115229627...
Woo PCY, Mheiri FA, Cavalleri J, Joseph S, Tang JYM, Joseph M, Tsang CC, Lau SKP, Wernery U.Epizootic lymphangitis (EL) is a highly prevalent and contagious infectious disease affecting horses in many parts of Ethiopia caused by Histoplasma capsulatum sensu lato ('var. farciminosum'). In this study, 12 suspected isolates of H. capsulatum sensu lato or yeasts unidentified by conventional biochemical tests isolated from Ethiopian horses with EL were characterised by ITS sequencing. Six of the 12 isolates were identified to be members of H. capsulatum sensu lato and the other six were Pichia kudriavzevii (synonym: Candida krusei) (n = 3), Trichosporon asahii (n = 1), Geotrichum silv...
Michanek P, Bröjer J, Lilliehöök I, Fjordbakk CT, Löwgren M, Hedeland M, Bergquist J, Ekstrand C.Canagliflozin (CFZ) is a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor that has shown promising results as a drug for the treatment of insulin dysregulation in horses. Even though CFZ is used clinically, no pharmacokinetic data has previously been published. In this study, the pharmacokinetics of CFZ after administration of a single oral dose of 1.8 mg/kg in eight healthy Icelandic horses was examined. Additionally, the effect of treatment on glucose and insulin levels in response to a graded glucose infusion was investigated. Plasma samples for CFZ quantification were taken at 0, 0.33, 0.66, 1, ...
Tan Yi Shean L, Milne EM, Shaw DJ, Maxwell S, Del-Pozo J.Lipofuscin is a complex mixture of highly oxidized, cross-linked macromolecules that accumulates in neurons with age and some neurodegenerative diseases. Equine dysautonomia (ED) is a polyneuropathy that mainly affects autonomic and enteric nervous systems, resulting in alimentary tract dysfunction. Our main aim was to determine whether neuronal lipofuscin increased with increasing duration of ED. We investigated the prevalence of lipofuscin in cranial cervical ganglia of horses with acute (AED), subacute (SED), and chronic ED (CED), young controls (of similar age to ED cases), and aged contro...
Bertuglia A, Pallante M, Pagliara E, Valle D, Bergamini L, Bollo E, Bullone M, Riccio B.Tarsocrural osteochondrosis (OCD) is a developmental orthopedic disease commonly affecting young Standardbreds, with different fragment localization and size. Clinically, it is characterized by variable synovial effusion in the absence of lameness, whose determinants are ill-defined. We hypothesized that localization and physical characteristics of the osteochondral fragments like dimensions, multifragmentation, and instability influence joint effusion and correlate with synovial markers of cartilage degradation and inflammation. Clinical data, synovial fluid and intact osteochondral fragments...
Verhaar N, Reineking W, Hewicker-Trautwein M, Grages AM, Kästner SBR, Geburek F.To evaluate the use of laser Doppler flowmetry and spectrophotometry (LDFS) for large intestinal viability assessment in horses with naturally occurring large intestinal strangulations. Methods: By use of LDFS, intestinal microperfusion was quantified as tissue oxygen saturation (tSo2), hemoglobin (tHB), and blood flow (tBF) in cases with large colon volvulus and small colon strangulations undergoing colic surgery (n = 17). Intestinal biopsies were taken from the pelvic flexure in all large colon cases and in small colon cases that underwent intraoperative euthanasia. Measurements were compare...
Trevisiol S, Popot MA, Garcia P, Boyer S, Caroff M, Drif L, Taleb W, Tendon S, Moulard Y, Bailly-Chouriberry L.The non-psychoactive cannabinoids cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) are available on the market in different forms, mostly for their anti-inflammatory and potential analgesic properties. These substances are prohibited during equine competitions. CBD and CBDA are naturally present in hemp straw, commonly used as a bedding substitute for wheat straw. Unfortunately, horses can eat it, which therefore could lead to a possible risk of positive findings for CBD/CBDA in biological samples after doping control tests. The goals of this study were, first, to provide recommendations on the...
Izquierdo-Moreno J, de Paz MI, Manso-Díaz G, Villalba-Orero M, López-Sanromán J.An accurate evaluation of the degree of sedation is mandatory to adjust the dosage of sedative drugs. Objective: To determine the correlation between head height above the ground and ataxia degree in horses sedated with detomidine and the correlation existing between accelerometric variables and both parameters. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Twelve horses were given 0.01 mg/kg of detomidine hydrochloride iv. Measured accelerometric parameters, with one accelerometer positioned between both sacral tuberosities, included speed, stride frequency and length, regularity, dorsoventral, lo...
Dupont J, Roman Dura B, Salciccia A, Serteyn D, Sandersen C.To study the changes in dynamic compliance (C), ventilation/perfusion (V˙/ Q˙) mismatch and haemodynamic variables in hypoxaemic anaesthetized horses whose PaO increased following salbutamol inhalation. Methods: Retrospective, clinical, cohort study. Methods: A group of 73 client-owned horses treated with salbutamol when PaO <100 mmHg (13.3 kPa) during anaesthesia. Methods: Horses were divided into two groups: responders (R), where PaO after salbutamol ≥1.2 PaO before treatment (i.e. ≥20% increase), and non-responders (NR), where PaO after salbutamol <1.2 PaO before treatment. Demographi...
Marunova E, Hernlund E, Persson-Sjödin E.Head and pelvis vertical movement asymmetries in horses are often evaluated under different conditions yet better understanding is required of how these asymmetries are altered by factors such as surface type or circle size. This study investigated how stride duration, surface and lungeing in circles of different sizes influenced objectively measured head and pelvis movement asymmetries in riding horses in full training. Movement asymmetries were recorded with body mounted accelerometers and were based on the differences between the two vertical displacement minima or maxima of head (HDmin, HD...